Current
by Sora Tsuiki
Summary: The first time on the bridge, the Kyuubi broke free of the seal, even if just a little. However, in this time, the Nine-Tailed Fox brought something else with it. "Kakashi-sensei," she began, attempting to focus in on the blurry illusion. It was of a man, holding an orange mask, with one red eye blazing. "Who is Obito?" A different kind of time travel.Fem!Naru AU
1. Current

**A/N: Hey guys… some of you might hate me for this (another story), but honestly this one has been bouncing in my head for ages and I've been a little stressed with characterization for my other story, Contracted, as well as the next step for TwentyTwenty, my OC story. So, to take a break from those two, here's another little side project that I'll be taking part in.**

**This IS a fem!naru story, and it will be treated like that's the most normal thing (because Naruto has been girl since birth, in this world). Pairings are currently undecided, though no Sasuke or Haku, so don't get your hopes up during this chapter no matter what.**

**Also, for this fic… I really want to take it to places that haven't been seen before and change the story into something completely new; a massive AU Because of that, in reviews or PMs, I encourage posting things you wish Kishimoto expanded upon in the manga or ideas you kind of wish you saw more. Or even better, if you wanna PM me and bounce ideas back and forth, it would be lovely! I don't have much of a plan yet for this story except I want it to be different :) Please feel no offense if I don't use your ideas, as I will most likely try to bounce off them instead of using them straight.**

**Unfortunately, as many reviewers pointed out... this chapter is slow because it's mainly canon (completely canon, almost) and I apologize for that but bear with me on this first one and give it a chance!**

**So, outside of that little rant, I'm proud to announce my new story: Current.**

**Please enjoy**

***Don't Own Naruto***

_Current: defined as belonging to a present time, being in progress now or being prevalent during a distinctive time. Also can be synonymous with circulating, running or flowing, passing from one to another. A general tendency; a steady onward movement._

Naruto would admit to herself honestly that she wasn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch, especially when compared to her teammate Sakura. That's probably why she hadn't thought about attacking from the outside in tandem with her other teammate, Sasuke. Neither was she the strongest or the most skilled, as Sasuke had proved himself to be, which is probably why they hadn't found a way out of their predicament yet. But, at the very least, she was hardy and determined and definitely stubborn, which was definitely why the girl was still standing, tired and beaten and impaled with dozens of senbon, sending clone after clone after clone at the damned enemy, even as they continuously died with increasing speed.

After all, she was Uzumaki Naruto, and she never backed down.

With a pop, the last of her clone minions poofed out of the realm of existence, leaving her and Sasuke still trapped within the enemy's jutsu of ice mirrors.

Panting, Naruto let a growl tear through her throat. Brushing back her red hair from her eyes, her gaze darted between the mirrors, fully intent of finding some kind of clue that would tell her which one the enemy was in. But none of the mirrors gave any hint, and the white porcelain mask worn by the enemy shinobi effectively blocked out any emotion or tell Naruto could observe.

Sakura and Kakashi-sensei were outside of the construct, protecting the bridge builder and fighting Zabuza, who _should_ have been dead, and the mist from the battle blanketed the ground of their fighting space as well. At least if the mist was still there, it meant Zabuza hadn't completed his mission.

A light tapping noise came from all around Naruto in an echo, her ears perking at the sound. Turning with a stumble as her body protested the movements, she could see the ninja somehow retrieve more senbon—Naruto still wondered where the shinobi got all the weapons, even now—and slide them in between his fingers in an ominous sign that the next volley would soon begin.

What could she do to break free? Naruto was certain that, given the chance, she could slip a clone out of the dome to attack from the outside and break the dome or at least use the clones as a distraction, but it wasn't working out too well.

After all, the enemy ninja had just taken down her seventh barrage of clones.

"Dobe, try it once more, I think I have him this time!" Sasuke panted without looking Naruto's way. Instead, his intense, obsidian gaze was focused ahead of him, towards one of numerous reflections in a mirror. For him, also, a blank mask stared right back, threateningly fingering several senbon between fingers with ease and without tiredness. Sasuke and Naruto, who idiotically came charging in "to the rescue," had been trapped in the enemy nin's mirror dome for over fifteen minutes already, and Sasuke had felt the wear and tear of battle almost seven minutes ago. Now, his chakra was proving to be a very limited resource, something that didn't bode well.

The Uchiha knew this fight had to end soon, and he needed Naruto's help to achieve that.

Sasuke had no need to glance towards his teammate to know that the Uzumaki's pointer and middle fingers were held resolutely in a cross, despite the small rivulets of blood prickling from where needles penetrated her form. Sasuke had no need to glance sideways to see the sweat smeared across the unusually solemn face of the Uzumaki, her short and perpetually unruly red hair now matted down tight to her head. She, too, was out of breath, which was saying something.

Naruto slid her eyes over to her self-declared rival, eyes shining with determination, as she hollered with a ruffled annoyance, "Don't tell me what to do, teme!" Despite her words, however, the chakra was already flowing through her coils, surging upwards and towards her hands before collecting in her fingers. The redhead rolled her sore shoulders back, heaving a light sigh when she heard a sharp crack echo across the bridge's expanse.

She shuffled her feet.

"Please, just surrender," the monotonous voice echoed from around the two, "I do not wish to harm you any further." Neither genin answered the enemy, but a growl from Naruto's direction said it all.

_Fuck that._

Simultaneously, Naruto expelled the built up energy from her chakra nodes with a blush of smoke and Sasuke began to move his fingers through hand signs he had known since he was seven. Twenty clones pulled into the realm of existence, and without wasting any time, they leapt in all directions. Like a synchronized dance, each redheaded copy cocked her fist back with a roar.

Sasuke's fingers ended in a tiger seal, his heated chakra licking his at his throat as he continuously stoked it, waiting. Naruto flashed a glance at Sasuke, confusion flitting across her face when she realized he hadn't let the fire loose yet. But then she felt it, the first death of her clone mob followed by a soft poof, and was distracted from her mental questioning.

Naruto grit her teeth, barely dodging a senbon needle aimed at her shoulder in time and skidding across the ground painfully; scrapes were better than a senbon after all. She rolled away, dodging more and more projectiles as her muscles cried for reprieve.

Another clone down, and another. What was that teme doing, ogling the damn nin's skills or something? Another dive to the side, sharp projectile grazing her cheek, adding a fourth whisker mark to her usual three and drawing even more blood than what had already soaked her clothes. Naru sneered.

That masked bastard was just lucky she didn't scar, otherwise he would have been long dead by now for ruining a girl's face, believe it!

Throwing a kunai in a random direction with the hope of getting lucky and stabbing the enemy in the leg, Naruto was instead treated to another volley of senbon in her direction, a volley that she couldn't completely dodge. Several ice needles stuck out from her left thigh, one hitting higher up at her hip. The Uzumaki girl didn't take the time to pull them from her body, instead mentally cursing as she collapsed to the ground.

If the teme was going to do something, he better do it already. She only cared for being a pincushion for so long.

And then, she heard the shout: "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" The heat seared past her, just a foot away, and for a quick second the shinobi's reflection appeared almost startled before the senbon stopped and they retreated back to the ice mirrors. None of the clones remained, and Naruto had several more needles sticking into her, but none of that mattered.

A ferocious grin split Naruto's face when not even the resulting steam from the jutsu nor the ever present chakra-saturated mist could stop her from noticing that the enemy's blue robes were singed.

Guffawing, Naruto taunted from the ground, "How do you like that, you dumb masked person? I call it the Uzumaki Special!" She swiped at the blood trickling down her face and rubbed her nose with a wide grin.

"It wasn't even your plan, dobe," Sasuke grunted, flicking his eyes from mirror to mirror in an attempt to locate the real body. Not that it was any use: if he could have done that in the first place, they wouldn't be in this mess.

Naruto scrunched up her face in her version of a pout, which honestly looked more like a grimace than anything, but the two Konoha genin didn't offer any more repartee when the masked shinobi began to speak again. "You are… getting better, but you don't have a chance of escaping," the voice whispered, achingly close, "If possible, I don't want to have to kill you, nor do I want you to have to kill me. However, if you come at me…" The voice trailed off, simmering in the resounding silence.

Naruto whipped her head around, eyes wide. She could have sworn that was said next to her ear that time.

However, at the reminder that their sensei was not only fighting right then, but also fighting someone of Zabuza's caliber Sasuke's pride in his hit dwindled and Naruto's face grew darker. Kakashi-sensei could hold his own, she was sure, but what if Zabuza decided to go straight for Tazuna and Sakura instead? They had stooped to kidnapping Tsunami, sending bullish and disgusting men who were thinking of-

Naruto felt the anger simmer in her stomach.

"Naruto," Sasuke spoke up again, "can you do it again?" His eyes were still fixed upon one of the mirrors, narrowing minutely. The Uchiha's voice was calm and steady, though Naruto could see his erratic breathing in the way his chest pumped up and down, attempting to regain the air and energy needed to keep fighting.

She felt that she should be asking him that, but why would his pride now when there would be plenty of time later. She stood on shaky legs, removing one or two hindering needles.

"Of course. Who do you think you're talking to, Sasuke?" she instead asked, running her fingers through sweat-soaked hair with a grimace. Most would assume that it was a rhetorical question and, like Sasuke, remain silent, but Naruto obviously felt the need to answer so the world could hear. "You're talking to the next Hokage!" she screeched with a confident grin, once again forcing chakra through her system and into her hands and outwards.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

The area of the demonic ice domes was flooded with a tsunami of orange and red leaping girls, all yelling and singing their prowess. And then the slaughter began once again. This time, the senbon came in large waves, taking out three or four clones at a time, dwindling the numbers. More than once had Naruto stumbled out of the way of said projectiles with a snarl, feet weighing her down in her exhaustion, and more than once had her clones covered for her, either with kawarimi or by playing human meat shield, or human shadow shield she supposed.

After all, summoning about eight rounds of mini armies in shadow clones was a tiring feat, even for her.

Naru flicked her gaze towards her teammate as she rolled away from another set of thrown senbon. He was utterly focused, not even moving and forcing her clones to jump in front of several senbon attacks to save him from his voluntary immobility. Whoever called him a prodigy had to be on something, because in her opinion standing still in the middle of a done of doom mirrors was stupid even to her, and she was dead last in the academy.

Yet, as the Uzumaki girl watched the Uchiha's gaze in fascination, her eyes widened.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke hissed for the nth time since they were caught, however it was his first time with a victorious smirk upon his face. The grand sphere of chakra-bred flames hadn't simply brushed against the fake hunter nin this time, but rather consumed the shinobi's right half, forcing the enemy to take the time to douse their arm in water to counteract the flame before entering the mirrors once more.

Naruto watched as Sasuke prepared to let a kunai fly the second his jutsu was free from his lips, and she hurriedly followed on blind faith. She couldn't see the enemy jumping from mirror to mirror like Sasuke explained he did, but with assured grace the dark-haired boy threw the projectile and she followed in suit.

The girl blinked when the masked shinobi phased into existence in time for her to witness him twist in midair to deflect on knife while the other grazed his exposed arm, bright red from almost-burns. With a small halo of blood exploding with the movement, the shinobi was then gone, content to find solace once again in his ice constructs.

Naruto's face pulled up in a bright and mischievous grin, whisker marks stretching to make room for all the teeth she was showing. They were just getting started.

As if sensing his gaze, Naruto turned to make eye contact with Sasuke, who had fallen to a knee to catch his breath. The look he was giving her said all that needed to be said between them as they both shifted into defensive stances, waiting for the next onslaught. Either the shinobi could waster their chakra away by concealing themselves as Naruto broke down every singled cursed mirror or they could attack, but when he attacked… Naruto rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck.

He better be ready for hell.

"Hey teme," Naruto chirped through her heavy breaths of air while her eyes roved her surroundings in hope of catching a glimpse of movement, "congrats on the eyes." She chuckled when Sasuke tenderly reached a hand to his eyes, touching them as if they had gone missing.

"Sharingan…" the masked enemy muttered, and Naruto could have sworn there was a bit of awe in his voice.

If it weren't for the dire straits they were in now, she would have called this a moment to take a picture: the ever stoic and brooding Uchiha Sasuke looked practically dumbfounded for a moment, jaw hanging and eyes widened in a weird look of happiness and pride. At least until the usual arrogant smirk came back to grace their company.

Naruto laughed, ignoring the danger they were in, and her face split into a grin. Pulling a couple senbon from her body, Naruto slipped her orange jacket off her shoulders to wipe at her sweat-soaked face before dropping it to the ground, leaving her in her black tank top. "I'm telling everyone about that super uncool face you made just now," Naruto teased, tightening the bandages going down each arm resolutely. Her muscles felt stiff and sluggish, exhaustion setting in as if to ossify her arms. There was a tight burn in her throat as her body screamed for more and more air.

Naruto wasn't sure how much longer she could go on with this. Her body ached and burned, and it honestly took way too much energy to simply not sway or fall. If she took another step, Naruto wasn't sure she could take a second. She winced as her arm spasmed on its own, upsetting on cluster of needles in her bicep. She clenched her hand in an attempt to stop it.

Through eyelids threatening to fall shut, her gaze slid over to Sasuke's form, still smirking despite her words as he searched the mirrors with his dojutsu. He looked as if he had gotten a second wind, energy and chakra thrumming to be used. She laughed again, closing her eyes briefly for a foxy grin. "And when we get out of this-"

It was the sudden splash of warmth that halted her words and the grunt of that made her open her eyes. But it was what she saw that made her break.

Sasuke was looming in front of her, shielding her from a bombardment of senbon that now sunk deep into his body. Blood dripped down his form in steady streams from the needles perforating his body. The stuck into his neck, his chest, his abdomen, and all over his limbs. There was even a needle that sat precariously close to his newfound eyes, one that moved up and down when the Uchiha blinked. Sasuke stumbled, but remained standing.

"Wh-why?" Naruto asked, falling to her knees.

He was bleeding, and Naruto knew that blood was on her as well, sprinkled lightly across her face and neck. She could smell it.

However, Sasuke didn't answer her question, instead taking his time to flicker his gaze back into Naruto's eyes with a contented smirk.

"What's with that stupid face, dobe?" he asked instead of answering the redhead's question. Another sway, but his feet anchored firmly onto the ground to hold him up. Naruto couldn't look away, and she wouldn't, from his back and the Uchiha crest stitched into the fabric.

"Why?" Naruto demanded again, trembling. "Why would you save me?" She felt a fresh tear slip down her cheek.

"I hated you," Sasuke proclaimed with a pained smile. When he spoke, blood was released from his mouth the pour down his chin. Coughing with a wince, Sasuke appeared almost pensive for a moment before a few stray tears fell from his own eyes. Eyes the same color of the blood flowing from his body. Eyes he had just awoken, taking another step towards his goal and ambition. Eyes that softened with genuine care while focusing on her. "I hated you all, for being happy and for having what I don't," he whispered hoarsely.

Naruto's breathe puffing outwards erratically and in panic. "I didn't ask for your help!" It was a desperate screech, accusing almost. Why… How could he…?

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes only to open them up as obsidian. "I don't know," the boy confessed. "My body just moved on its own…" His face was losing the peacefulness, instead scrunching up in pain and fatigue. His breathing began to slow, little by little, until Naruto could barely see his shoulders and chest rise. She reached a hand forward in fear.

Then a violent cough, blood bubbling from between his lips, Sasuke forced out a few more words with his eyes up to the sky. They were pondering, almost nostalgic in how peaceful he sounded as he said, "That man… My brother, I told myself I wouldn't die until I killed him…" Closing his eyes again, Sasuke muttered just loud enough to be a breath passing through his lips, "Don't die, too."

And then he fell in Naruto's arms.

"Jumping without hesitation to save a precious person despite knowing it was a trap," the masked shinobi intoned with a certain amount of sadness, "he is a shinobi that deserves respect. You have my apologies."

When Naruto didn't answer, the ninja melted out of the mirror, his sandals tapping solid ground before speaking again. "Is this your first death of a friend?" he asked curiously, but still not a response.

Naruto's body was bent over her teammates in mourning, shaking and trembling in sadness. Naruto hugged him closer, barely minding the needles sticking out of Sasuke's body.

"Shut up," Naruto whispered, staring down at the restful face of her comrade. Brushing a careful hand through his hair, Naruto commanded a trembling hand to remove the senbon near Sasuke's eye. She needed to protect his precious eyes like he would have wanted: he was always grossly prideful of that stupid clan of his and their eyes.

The eyes that could see the future, people had said, and remember everything they had seen. He had always told her, tauntingly, that when he got the sharingan she would have no chance in getting even close to his power.

"This is the shinobi way; the truth."

"Shut up!" she roared, clenching her fists and eyes, attempting not to cry and failing miserably. A sob fluttered past her lips without her permission.

She had hated him, too, and his damned arrogance. Everyone admired him, yet he always brushed them off. He had the skills she dearly wished for every night, yet wouldn't accept anyone's praise. He was an orphan, just like her, alone in the world with a dream he had to achieve, yet he died saving her. Because she couldn't do anything.

No. Sasuke died because of _him._

Naruto felt something break in her, something give way, but she embraced it when the power and anger surged throughout her body like poison.

Sasuke was dead because _he_ killed him.

The malevolent heat pulsed, expelling the needles from her body and sealing up the holes and scratches. Naruto felt a burn in her eyes that went further than tears, and searing pain in her fingers as things cracked and rearranged. A sharp sting spread across her gums as her teeth grew and sharpened, splitting a think cut in her lips that quickly sealed shut.

He was going to fucking die.

With an explosive burst of chakra, the energy curled around her body as if a small tornado and pulled at her shirt and pants. Naruto's crimson hair whipped around her head as if a bloody halo, and she raised her face so her eyes could meet the mask. They were crimson with slit pupils; they were primal. As one last tear made a clear track through the dirt and blood on her face, Naruto jolted forward on all fours.

Kill, she thought angrily, roar ripping from her throat in an ethereal scream. He killed one of hers, so she was to kill him, that's how the world works. That how she worked.

Her claws scraped the ground as Naruto pounced at the masked shinobi attempting to escape to the mirrors, but this time he was too slow. This time Naruto was faster and this time Naruto was the predator and nothing brought more vengeful happiness to the redheaded genin than that.

Gripping a fistful of the enemy's battle kimono, Naruto flipped him over her shoulder and violently into the ground, small cracks forming underneath the pressure. The shinobi's moan in pain was like music to Naruto's ears. Just one more small step for Sasuke.

Sharp canines were exposed in a cold, malevolent smile on Naruto's face. Oh yes, he would suffer.

And that's all Naruto could think about. Images and wishes for the person below her to be at the mercy of her power and for her hatred to run free. A blurred face with red eyes and black hair, smirking with self-assured pride, shimmered across her vision before another moan sloughed through her being. A wave of dark pleasure rippled up her, and Naruto had to force herself not to bite her lip in ecstasy.

Yes, death for the moronic meat bag who had dared upset her and attack her kin. A sharp elbow to the shoulder, and an agonized yelp from behind the mask sand to her blood. Naruto felt like fluffing up her fur in pleasure.

Her eyes locked on to her quarry with animosity and lust.

While reaching for her prey again, Naruto watched as the enemy scrambled hastily to their feet and jumped away, hurling senbon at her. However, Naruto simply opened her mouth and roared.

High-pitched and screeching, like several different voices screaming for mercy, the sound was accompanied with a shockwave of chakra that blasted the needles away in all directions. The pulse of chakra also pushed the masked nin, attempting to flee, directly into one of his mirrors.

However, the ninja was granted no respite as Naruto quickly launched after him, arm cocked back, thick whiskers full and thick and stretched with a growl, blazing crimson eyes narrowed in sorrow and hate, and a spinning blue ball of swirling chakra humming in her hand.

The shinobi didn't even have time to widen his eyes in surprise as he flew, spinning, away from the now shattered mirror. All at once, the dome collapsed in a cacophony of glittering shards, raining down onto the bridge's ground with the tinkling of a wind chime. If one hadn't known that it was the result of a deadly battle, it could have been described as beautiful and melodic.

When the last shard found rest upon the bridge, silence blanketed the area just as thickly as Zabuza's chakra-induced fog. Only the far away sound of metal kissing metal swam across the air, and the enemy shinobi dare not make a sound, else risk the wrath of the tiny redheaded berserker.

After a lapse in battle, a time in which the fake hunter ninja utilized to assess the injuries and plan for a counterattack, the hateful presence slowly diminished, whittling away into nothingness. Even the unnerving red glow that had exuded from the Konoha genin's being had begun to die down until nothing was left but the light of a clouded sun. However, he knew that the redhead wasn't dead or gone.

Hesitantly rising to his feet, the enemy shinobi placed tender fingers on his mask, feathering light touches across the surface. He winced when he felt a shallow indent, carved into the porcelain as a circular pattern.

That girl was strong; he knew he couldn't beat her. He had failed his master and for this, he should be killed. The shinobi searched his jutsu's wreckage intently, waiting for her figure to appear and take his life.

_C_U_R_R_E_N_T_

Her head felt funny, Naruto realized after picking herself up from the ground. Bits and pieces of what appeared to be glass were embedded into her palms and dusted throughout her hair.

Brushing the tiny knives off her palms, Naruto paused. Examining the frosted shards that were cold to the touch, she realized that the slivers were ice.

Brows drawing together in confusion, Naruto looked around only to be gazing into a thick wall of impenetrable mist, which was weird since mist in Konoha was pretty much unheard of.

A splitting wave of pain tore through her head and Naruto groaned, closing her eyes. The ache moved down her neck and across her body in an agonizing pulse as images flashed behind her eyelids. A great dome made up of several mirrors. A masked shinobi staring at her. Sasuke sitting on a tree branch, flipping a kunai on his finger with a triumphant smirk. An old man with a straw hat, pouring booze down his throat with nervous abandon.

Right, they were on protection detail for Tazuna, and she and Sasuke were fighting-

Her eyes snapped open. Sasuke!

Panic springing through her veins, Naruto clawed her way up from the ground, never bothering when more ice shards bit into her exposed and aching skin. The sudden climb to standing had left her head spinning and her mind woozy, but through the dots and blinking lights usurping her vision Naruto squinted her eyes to search the vicinity for her teammate.

They were fighting that masked hunter nin—no wait! Fake hunter nin who had helped Zabuza who was currently fighting her sensei! She needed to find him so that they could help protect the bridge builder!

On swaying legs that threatened to collapse any moment—why did everything hurt so much? And why did her head decide to torture her right now?—Naruto's sandaled feet shuffled through the ice debris.

"Oi, teme!" Naruto called loudly, wincing at the sound. The noise pierced straight through her ears and sent a fresh stab of pain to her head.

Kami, what had _happened_? Naruto scrunched her eyes shut in an attempt to collect her memories, but all she got was flashing scenes and blurred lights spinning through her head. Images seared in her mind and fluttered across her consciousness like a dream all at once; images she had no remembrance of. They chased each other in her head like a circle, but she couldn't solidly catch one, on glimpses: A giant toad smoking a pipe. A redheaded boy with dark circles around his eyes, wearing a Kage hat. A giant, red moon hanging in the sky. A young man, resting his chin on her shoulder, bloodied spikes sticking out from his back. An orange, spiraling face.

There were a couple she recognized, as well, she realized. Like Iruka yelling at her in class, throwing a piece of chalk at her face, or the Hokage monument, graphitized with neon paints. She could even pull back an image of that lazy bum Shikamaru, crouched with his hands in a funny position, his eyes opening to reveal a dead serious gaze. Pink hair billowed in her sights as Sakura, hair cut short, smiled endearingly at her, Sasuke and Kakashi standing in the background at ease. They looked different, somehow though. Older maybe? And since when did Sakura look at her like _that_?

Naruto could feel the depiction slithering away, grains of sand slipping through her fingers. The redheaded girl tried to grasp on to it, anchor it to her, but the second her mind focused in on the image, it snapped and crumbled leaving bright red and agony.

"Gah!" she screeched, her search for her missing teammate halting as she fell to her knees, clutching her head in excruciating pain. Her neck muscles were spasming uncontrollably and her mind turned to mush as it felt like kunai after kunai were stabbed into her brain. Naruto bit her lip to block her scream.

Just as quickly as it arrived, the red and pain evaporated, leaving a dull pounding hum of pain behind her eyes. Blackness returned to her eyelids. Another moan escapes her lips as she pries her eye lids apart.

It was still misty and gloomy and grey with no sign of anything she had witnessed within her own head. However, when she twisted her neck in an attempt to crack it and alleviate the pressure she knew was building there, Naruto noticed something in a pile of ice just out of clarity. It appeared to be a person, almost, laying on the ground. It appeared to be Sasuke.

Scowling, Naruto dragged herself up and hobbled over. Damn Uchiha, thinking that he could take a nap now that he had awakened his… sharingan…

Naruto's stomach plummeted into her bowels and she was left with a distinctive queasy feeling.

"No," she whispered, striding cautiously to the limp figure, "That didn't happen, just like those other images." She gulped at the thick air greedily while her throat closed up in grief. Her pulse rate soared, and the bounding of her blood pressure trilled against her temples. "It's some stupid fucked up thing my mind made up," she assured herself, planting a foot next to her teammate's stomach.

Sasuke's eyes were close, a serene look upon his face if not for the needles pricking him like a porcupine. Remnants of salty tears crusted at his eyes like blood crusted on her limbs and torso. He was just sleeping, Naruto guaranteed, like the arrogant bastard that he was.

Her fingers found their way to his carotid without her even knowing, trembling against his still warm skin. There was no pulse, no beat.

The girl hiccupped, the cries held back through bravado slowly breaking through. The masked shinobi had killed Sasuke by using her as bait. Their first C-rank mission, their first time being even close to friends… and he was gone.

But Haku wouldn't kill anyone, he never wanted that.

Stilling, Naruto retraced her thoughts. Haku was the boy from the forest. What did he have to do with any of this? Recognition glimmered behind the redhead's eyes.

Eyes narrowing, Naruto shoved her arms under his, dragging him through the destroyed mirrors; she couldn't just leave her teammate lying there, after all. But why would Haku be behind the mask, and how did she know? How did she know that he didn't kill Sasuke?

Grunting, the genin pulled her teammate from the debris and eyed him critically, mind racing. Sasuke had no pulse; he had to be dead, she mused sadly, more tears threatening her eyes. Her mind had to be screwing with her if it thought she would believe that Haku, _if _he was the masked nin, could place Sasuke in a false state of death.

The glint of a needle attracted her attention. Senbon, Naruto realized with a stuttering hope. The ninja had used senbon before to make it seem as if Zabuza had died, why not do the same with Sasuke?

Naruto's mind pulsated angrily again, pulling the last dregs of her previous headache up to the surface.

Maybe it was her belief in her brief friend or maybe it was foolish hope, but more likely it was just that Naruto was struggling to run away from reality, but she didn't question her new revelation. If Naruto was anything, she was stubborn to a fault.

And with confidence that was grossly unbefitting of her current predicament, the redheaded genin of Konohagakue who was known as the most unpredictable knuckle-headed ninja walked in the direction her gut lead her. Coincidentally, it lead her directly to who she wanted to see.

His mask was different, no longer perfectly smooth porcelain. Instead, a circular indent was inscribed into the surface looking almost like a spiral. Naruto couldn't recall how such a blemish came to be.

The two stood in silence: one in consternation and the other in surprise. Naruto, for one in her thirteen years of life, felt no need to open her mouth and talk, instead contented to simply scrutinize the boy in front of her. Because now she realized he was just that: a boy. Most likely a few years older than her, possibly sixteen, despite his generally frail and diminutive figure, and while his hair was up in a clothed bun with only a few tresses loose—a particularly feminine hairstyle—one could tell he was male from the protrusion of his Adam's apple, no matter how small it was. Still, Naruto could easily imagine him being mistaken for a girl, like she had done not five days ago.

"Why haven't you killed me, yet?" came the ever monotonous voice from behind the mask. It wasn't said out of fear or even curiosity, rather simple anguish. Naruto tilted her head in puzzlement at the question. The masked shinobi clenched his hands until they were pale white. When he spoke again, his voice had risen, and anger and hysteria leaked into his words. "You are stronger than I am and have beaten me. I am no longer a useful tool for Zabuza-sama."

He paused, almost as if steadying his breath, and Naruto couldn't help but abhor that mask that hid his face. It made him seem inhuman.

"Why should I kill you?" Naruto countered, averting her eyes to the sound of fighting away on other parts of the bridge.

"I killed your friend." His voice was strong and confident when he delivered those words, so Naruto couldn't help but wonder why she couldn't believe them in her heart. She simply knew he was lying. Her head, despite how it had pounded and protested against her earlier, was telling her that Haku was lying.

"No, you didn't kill him, Haku, you couldn't," she mumbled gently. The ninja in front of her stiffened in shock, never moving even when Naruto's fingers hooked underneath his mask and removed it. The object dropped to the ground and shattered on impact, just as the ice mirrors had.

Haku's delicate features were twisted with amazement when revealed, tear tracks staining his cheeks in a steady flow of liquid. His slate eyes wavered, but held firm onto Naruto's own. They were resolute in their decision, peaceful in his conclusion.

"But I will," he whispered hoarsely, "I will kill him if it means aiding Zabuza-sama in any way. Even if it means killing my heart with a blade and becoming a true shinobi." There was no hesitance in his statement.

Naruto's ire built inside of her, growing larger and larger before she opened her mouth and yelled, "Why help him, Haku? He's a bad guy, an evil man! You don't have to kill if you don't want to!" Naruto averted her eyes and clenched her hands to hide their tremors. "Don't become a monster for his sake," she added after a moment of quiet.

The soft chuckle that floated from Haku's mouth made Naruto bristle in absolute fury. He seemed so okay with how he was being treated. It was so... wrong.

"Do you know what it is like, Naruto-chan?" he began gently, crouching down to pick up the largest piece of his broken mask. Inspecting it with tenderness, Haku's calloused fingers stroked the surface, tracing the red wave. Naruto watched with rapt attention, glaring down at her would-be-friend. "The most painful thing," the boy added, taking a gentle look up to meet her gaze, "to realize that, in this world, my existence wasn't needed or even wanted. Not having a dream, not needed by anyone… the pain of merely being alive."

Naruto had nothing to say to that, her own body frozen to the spot at Haku rose to his full height, over a foot taller than she was. He smiled at her calmly, mask still in hand. "Zabuza-sama gave me the answer to my existence, Naruto-chan. He saved me from that; he wanted my accursed blood that had left me alone." His voice became hard, but content, happy almost. His smile even widened as he spoke, "If that means I am his tool and that I must kill, then so I must. I want to protect the person important to me. I want to fight for that person. I want to make that person's dream come true… That is my dream."

It was so messed up, Naruto realized, clenching her teeth together is anger, that Haku felt this way. That he felt indebted to that man so much to kill his own beliefs. But it was even more messed up that she could understand where the boy was coming from. She wondered, had the Hokage not come around and inspired her to become Hokage, would she have fallen to this same darkness? What if she didn't have Iruka-sensei… or Kakashi-sensei or Sakura or Sasuke?

"But," Haku's voice gave her pause. Naruto looked up, empathy and pain dancing across her features. This time when meeting Haku's eyes, the boy seemed possessed by sadness and regret. His next words sent shivers of distaste up her spine, "I have failed him and am worthless now even as a tool. Because of this, Naruto-chan, please kill me."

Cold fear gripped Naruto's heart and body, a sense of unknown familiarity at those words, like she had heard them before. "What?" Naruto questioned, voice barely above a whisper. Even the clanging of weapons in the distance could be heard easier than her words.

"Kill me. A broken tool is useless, and I do not wish to go through the pain of being useless once again."

"I can't!" Naruto screamed, wincing at the volume of her voice. She couldn't kill Haku, and she wouldn't! He wasn't fighting anymore and he… he was her friend!

"Please, Naruto-chan," Haku pleaded, and the sorrow pierced he skin. Here she was, a kunoichi, a trained killer and assassin, and her enemy was offering his life to her willingly. Yet she couldn't do it, even if he asked. There was an ache in her chest at the thought of striking Haku down, even with his wishes. Haku was worth more than just being a weapon, and something told her that, despite what Haku believed, Zabuza might even know this himself. It was just a gut instinct, but shinobi learned to rely on such things.

"Haku," Naruto began again, but was cut off when the boy violently whipped his head in the direction of her sensei's fight. Naruto paused, perplexed for a moment, before she recognized something. There was no more sounds of kunai clashing to kunai or swords singing through the air. Naruto chanced a look that way as well, but knew she wouldn't see anything but endless mist. It was silent.

Then suddenly, the sound of chirping pierced the air and grew louder and louder until it was a roar, a symphony of birds all singing their own high-pitched lament to the world. The sounds was curiously familiar. Brows furrowed in thought, Naruto turned back to Haku in order to ask what the sound was. Her words died in her throat when she took in his expression.

Pure fear and even purer determination. Naruto could have sworn she had seen that look upon his face before, as if a cloudy memory.

"Sorry, Naruto-chan, but I have one last way I can be of use," Haku muttered, bringing a his fingers up into a hand sign Naruto couldn't recognize. But she was sure of it now. She knew this scene, somehow, from somewhere. She knew what was to happen next.

"No! Haku!" she yelled, reaching out for his sleeve. Her fingertips brushed the haori's fraying fabric in an attempt to clamp down and stop the boy, but he is already gone, leaving behind only smoke.

Staring at the empty space, Naruto blanks out as her mind takes over on autopilot. She finds her fingers are moving deftly into a hand sign, one she didn't realize she even knew. It was like an out-of-body experience, watching almost numbly as her finger moved on their own with their own mind. Her head thrummed with pain as the chakra built, and then, with sudden clarity, Naruto knew exactly what was to happen and what she had to do. Without hesitation, Naruto released her built up chakra and pushed it through her coils.

Then she, too, disappeared in a puff of smoke.

**So there it is. Hope ya'll liked it and please drop a review! It WILL make me update faster (proven fact!) so if you're interested, even a "I liked it!" or "It was stupid. Wtf" works, yeah? Heck, if you just write "Platypus" I'd be happy... well, maybe not that... but honestly, I LOVE reviews, especially long ones that tell me what you think or like or didn't like! PLEASE. lol**

**Have a nice day all of you, and thanks for reading :)**

**Koby Out!**


	2. Shinobi Rule 25

**A/N: Wow, ok, I am so flattered that despite the slower beginning chapter, I've gotten 14 reviews, 21 favorites, 59 followers and placed into a community… just… wow :) Thank you guys all so much! I promised myself if I somehow got 10 reviews on the first chapter, this second one would be in the works ASAP! And now that I hit it last night and I just finished my physiology and lab final, here I am working on it ;)**

**Thank you to the ones who gave me ideas for this mishmash of a story as well! Continue to do so if you wish, and please, give me thoughts! I'm trying to fix my mistakes of the last chapter, such as pacing, but I'm afraid that it is still a little slow…. I think maybe that's because it is still close to canon and the Wave mission was truly a huge turning point in Naruto's career and mindset so I can't leave things out! :) Still… This is where we begin to… diverge from canon, so I hope it's good enough for you guys! :D Thanks for making it to the second chapter!**

**Also, warning: there is one point where things will get confusing and you will know it when you see it… just let it go and accept it and things will be explained xD**

***Don't Own Naruto***

_Shinobi Rule #25:_

_No matter the situation, a shinobi must keep emotions on the inside; you must make the mission your top priority and you must possess a heart that never shows tears._

Kakashi charged forward, fully intent on impaling Momochi Zabuza with his chidori. He might no longer feel the fox's chakra saturating the air, but the damned demon wasn't known as the strongest and slyest of bijuu for nothing. Kakashi knew he had to finish this fast and check up on his students.

Closing in on his enemy, Kakashi made the minute adjustments to his incoming angle to avoid accidently skewering his own ninken currently holding Zabuza in place. He was to aim just under the ribcage, angling the strike upwards to bypass the ribs and pierce the heart for an assured death. He expected it to be quick, if not a little messy, which was fine with him as long as his genin couldn't see the bloodbath.

When Zabuza's minion to slide into place right in front of the missing nin, mask missing and beaten and bruised, Kakashi could add even this into his expectations, though what that meant for Sasuke and Naruto wasn't something he could truly focus on at the moment, clamping down on his emotions to focus on his killing blow.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the obviously young boy.

The brunette's face was resolute and determined, hands held at the ready most likely with the intention of taking the killing blow before holding Kakashi in place for Zabuza to strike them both down. Kakashi inwardly snorted. The move was suicidal, brave, and absolutely worthless. No matter what the boy tried, Kakashi would still execute Zabuza one way or another and come out as victor. All he had to do was escape before the man's huge ass sword reached his head. Easy enough, with the ninken slowing him down.

Yet, what Kakashi could never have expected and what he could never even think to anticipate was his own genin, roughed up and obviously exhausted, flashing before his attack in a shunshin, a jutsu she shouldn't have even known.

But he was too close, too involved to stop.

"Naruto!" he bellowed in panic as his arm swung upwards and into her shoulder, lightning piercing clean through the tissue and bone with a sickening slice. As his hand stopped, just popping out of Naruto's back, the momentum's wind caught up to the situation was a lag, puffing back the girl's red hair from her face to reveal thickened and wild whisker marks rapidly deteriorating into the usual thin three. Her eyes were closed in agony, and she grunted in response to her sensei's voice.

The man's eyes widened in panic as his sharingan took it all in, memorizing every grimace in agony and every moan in pain. The distressed scrunch of Naruto's face—so similar to his own sensei's face or was it actually his sensei's face there in pain?—would forever haunt his mind and dreams. One hand was still held in the half ram seal of the shunshin while the other lay lightly on his arm as the lightning chakra died out. Small red roses of blood growing and growing until it dripped rivers down her clothes. She would be the second teammate he had killed with this technique, his arm buried deep into their flesh.

His breathing picked up as he began to lightly hyperventilate, the girl unmoving. "N-Naruto…?" he questioned with a croaking voice. This was his sensei's _child_ impaled on his arm, his genin, his teammate's blood was pouring down from a wound he inflicted upon her. Why had she jumped in front of him and to her death for the enemy?

Kakashi sighed a morbid breath of relief as Naruto groaned and the hand on his arm tightened. She was alive right now, but he definitely couldn't assure her survival from the wound, no matter the healing the fox gave her. Kakashi's eyes roved her body top to bottom, noting no other blemishes or wounds on her skin, though several perforating holes and slash marks tore up her clothes. Naruto wasn't hurt otherwise… The jounin wasn't sure whether he should remove himself from her or not; how much would she bleed?

He hesitated, arm convulsing with the slight aftershock of the chidori, and again the redhead moaned in pain. Kakashi's breath hitched and his eyes widened in panic.

With her eyes still scrunched shut, Naruto forced words from her mouth. They weren't addressed to him, though, but rather the pair she had shielded from her own team's attack: "Gato is going to betray you, ya know?" she panted. With stiff movements, Naruto twisted her head backwards to face Zabuza and Haku. She added, "He's gonna try to kill you so he doesn't have to pay."

Naruto didn't even want to touch upon how she knew, just _knew_, that Gato would be arriving any minute with his damned worthless minions, asserting a sadly misplaced sense of superiority.

Naruto swallowed heavily, choking down saliva to lubricate her exceedingly dry throat and distract her from the excruciating agony in her shoulder. She was so stupid, jumping in front of Kakashi-sensei's attack—being impaled just wasn't what it cracked up to be, and who knows? Maybe she'd end up on that Memorial Stone yet—but she knew what was going to happen and Kami smite her if she was going to leave it be. That, and there was no one she was going down before she got to see Gato's head get bashed in.

Naruto grit her teeth against crying out as her shoulder's nerve endings protested her current predicament in pain. It was as if she felt her cells attempting to sew back together, but being stopped by her sensei's arm.

Zabuza grunted, scowl apparent from the twisting of the bandages around his mouth. "Even if that's true," the missing nin stated in his rasping voice, "I can kill your team, the bridge builder, and all of his weaklings and rid myself of this entire headache. See who he pays then." The man laughed, loud and taunting, before relaxing against the sharp teeth of the dogs. The mutts had begun to loosen their grips in surprise, just as Kakashi's mind had already departed from their fight as well.

His eyes were far away, lost in a cloudiness that spelled death for any ninja who would supposed to be fighting. But where was the fun in that?

Maliciously, Zabuza spoke up, "This the first, Kakashi? The first time you lost a subordinate?" The copy-nin's eyes flashed with steel, removing them from the redhead panting in distracting pain to the man in front of him. Snorting, Zabuza continued, "Not that she was all that much of a ninja really if this has anything to say about it."

Leveling a dark glare at the man who dwarfed her, standing behind her shocked friend, Naruto growled, "Don't talk to him like that." Her words were punctuated with a quick flash of malevolence as her eyes bled red for the third time that day. Naruto tightened her grip on Kakashi's arm, holding him still when she noticed that he finally composed himself and choked down his emotions like the elite he was.

Plans were probably zipping through his mind right now; plans to get her and their team out of here with little more damage, to extricate their client before things tail-spun even worse, to dispose of their enemies as quickly and efficiently as possible, now that he was facing both at once. However, Naruto wouldn't let anyone harm her precious people, even if it was her sensei and even if said people were being massive jerks at the moment and trying to kill her. Why Zabuza was precious to her of all people, Kami knows, but still, the emotion remained and no one was dying on her watch. That's just not how Uzumaki Naruto worked.

In his defense, Zabuza only stiffened for half a second before recovering to guffaw. "You have quite the attitude, gaki," he said with no small amount of mirth. Naruto could have sworn she detected something in his eyes then, at her words, though. Something he tried to hide from her perceptive gaze. "Such a shame that you have to die here…"

A hidden undertone in his words sent her already unsteady mind reeling again and her head swam. Choking on a breath, she leaned heavily into Kakashi's arm, much to his alarm. Her vision blurred and morphed and twisted and for a split second, just one fleeting moment, she thought she saw the hulking man crying. But then she blinked the dizziness away and it was gone.

Naruto took a deep breath to ground herself as her body threatened to sway and shut down. Not yet.

"Now, move Haku. Let me end this here."

Both she and Kakashi stiffened at that proclamation.

Haku, as well, tensed at his master's words with nothing less than trepidation that was leaning more towards doom. Swiveling brown, pleading eyes to the man, he implored, "But Zabuza-sama, she warned us-"

"Haku, she is an enemy nin. If you don't move, I'll cut right through you, too."

Naruto understood the words. No one but her had that special kind of crazy to aid an enemy trying to kill her sensei, but to cut _through_ his student? His friend? Naruto's ire grew and protested against those odd little inklings pricking at her skull, unable to be ignored, telling her they were both precious, they both deserved to live.

"If that is what you wish, Zabuza-sama, then please cut me down. I am already a broken tool, worthless to you…"

Snarling, Naruto took advantage of the standoff to pull herself off Kakashi's arm, blood now literally pouring from her chest as she suddenly felt queasy at the sight. But she swallowed down the bile and the fear and the call of unconsciousness to ignore the surprised look on Kakashi's face and to turn towards the Mist duo. With the last of her energy, Naruto punched Haku. Hard.

"Naruto!" Said girl vaguely discerned that voice as Kakashi's, no longer worried or panicked or lost. No, now his voice was commanding and back in control. Naruto knew she had little time.

Now on the ground, skull having just made an unforgettable first meeting with the ground, Haku glanced up in obvious surprise at the girl before him. Her red hair had begun to stick up in random directions, stiffening with dried sweat and blood, and her entire torso was covered with the stuff. In fact, her entire being could be considered red, from her hair to her eyes, to the red smears across her face and body, to the slightly bubbling of red-orange chakra at her shoulder. But Naruto ignored all of this.

"That's for asking me to kill you, teme, and for trying to make me think you killed Sasuke," she snarled vehemently.

"As for you," she began as she turned on Zabuza, but her lack of blood wasn't helping her in anyway. Instead of a smooth pivot, Naruto found herself stumbling towards the man who was still silently fighting Kakashi's pack of dogs with renewed vigor to gain movement. And then she was falling, head sailing in a smooth arc to collide with Zabuza's stomach in what was no doubt going to be a painful crash. Her eyes crunched shut as she relaxed her body for the collision that would undoubtedly finally dislodge her consciousness from the waking world she desperately clung to.

That is, before she felt warm arms slip around her waist, tender but strong.

She smelt a familiar musky scent mixed with blood and steel. Kakashi. Naruto relaxed… until she started to be pulled away.

"No! Kakashi, wait!" she cried, struggling against her sensei's grip and against the blackness swallowing her mind with pain. Naruto screamed at one particularly harsh jerk, and Kakashi almost dropped her in surprise, but he was no longer delayed or hesitant. He was a shinobi, and Kakashi knew he needed to act as such. His grip tightened his hold.

Naruto clenched her mouth shut before another scream ripped out of her as she watched with bated breath as the ninken tightened their hold on the swordsman, looking fiercer than they had ever before, despite the fact that Zabuza was no longer fighting the snare. Naruto glared at the man as he turned his look down towards a still stunned Haku. He said something she couldn't hear past the ringing in her ears and the commands Kakashi was yelling to Sakura, but through her blurry vision Naruto could still see Haku's head dip down towards the ground.

She didn't have time! Her damned head was starting to pull her under the soft warmth of catalepsy while her mind wrought panicked chaos, urging her to do something for these shinobi she barely knew, yet felt that she was connected to.

Naruto could feel the tear of gingerly healing flesh as she pushed against Kakashi's stomach with her bad arm before it was quickly locked against her side with his grip. So she couldn't escape, but she wasn't known as loud and annoying by her peers—and basically everyone else—for nothing.

"Damnit Zabuza! He'll do anything for you, even kill himself without a second thought! Haku loves you, you bastard, and how do you repay him?" Naruto screeched crossly, her voice cracking as she wriggled in rebellion. Naruto panted as darkness shimmied into her peripherals. "He's not a tool for you to use and throw away, he's a person, 'ttebayo!"

However, Naruto never got to see the nuke-nin's reaction. Instead, Kakashi had decided that enough was enough. "Naruto, stop! You're going to die if you keep this up," he said in a smoothly dangerous tone; it was a tone that told her to be quiet unless she wanted him to make her be quiet. Naruto's jaw locked against the heaviness pulling at her eyelids and the lead that weighed down her body.

Her mind attempted to think clearly, to pull itself out of the image of a dead Zabuza reaching towards and equally dead Haku, smile on his face. The image seemed real, all too real, in her fuzzy mind, and she hated it. Naruto knew that she didn't want that. Naruto fought for a moment, struggling against the image in her head and against the lull of sleep, but then her eyelids pulled together like magnets and the oblivion behind them assuaged her rapidly growing headache.

Why had she been fighting back the darkness again? Just floating in it, Naruto realized it was so nice, and warm, and calming…

"Naruto!" came a familiar high-pitched screech, echoing and bouncing in her head. She scrunched her face up, snuggling into the warmth in an attempt to cover her ears. It was just too _loud_.

"Naruto!" This time the call was deeper, more masculine, followed by a sharp sting, and she whimpered at the feeling. "Naruto, just open your eyes, okay?" It was Kakashi-sensei, she could tell, but he was being annoying right now. Why couldn't he just shut up and let her sleep? She saved Haku-chan and Zabuza, Gato was going to be dead, and they all knew Sasuke was alive and well. Now they could go and partake in the chuunin exams without worrying about anything.

A light growled rumbled from her lips as she felt her body be shifted agonizingly before the pain ebbed away.

"Naruto!" This time a sharper sting and Naruto's eyes flung open, flinching at the light. Her groggy gaze met the sage green of Konoha's shinobi vest, and Naruto grouchily wondered why they had to wake him up. If they had the time to play around and slap his face, then obviously no one was chasing them. And they should all know that Kurama would heal whatever pain was in his shoulder.

Mumbling grievances, Naruto's eyes fluttered shut with slight annoyance at his old sensei. Damned Hatake, thinking he couldn't take care of himself… he was nineteen, damnit!

"Sensei, will she be okay?"

Was that Sakura, Naruto wondered. Oh, she'd be pissed that he went and got himself hurt again, definitely. But why was her voice so loud and high-pitched and prepubescent? It was almost as if…

Naruto's eyes snapped open to be met with disorientation and dizziness. Looking to one side, there was an ocean, shining dully as mist crept along the surface. Just through said mist, Naruto could barely make out a partially finished bridge, spanning from one outlet of land off into a distance that the Uzumaki couldn't make out.

Ignoring the pounding of blood in his ears, Naruto flung his head the other way to realize he was being cradled in his sensei's arms, and past that he could see three more Kakashi's as well, each carrying their own charge. On first of the Kakashi's back was an old man with a goatee, straw hat flapping mercilessly in the wind. Naruto belatedly realized that it was, in fact, Tazuna the bridge-builder from his first ever C-rank mission. Which meant…

Craning his head out further, on another clone's back was Sakura, pink hair still long and tussling with the wind as they ran. Her eyes slid over to meet his and lit up with relief.

"Kakashi-sensei! I think she woke up!"

However, as much as he enjoyed seeing Sakura's face full of innocence and life, it was the body next to her, on the final Kakashi, that truly peaked Naruto's interest. A tear slid from his eyes as Naruto noticed Sasuke's pale face leaning peacefully against their sensei's broad back. He had done it, he truly made it back in-

"Naruto!"

Swiveling his head once more to face Kakashi, Naruto attempted to scratch the back of his neck before deciding it was a bad idea considering the pain the jolted through his arm at every jump. Instead, he gave his usual foxy grin, truer than it had been in years, eyes closed and everything. He didn't care at the moment if this wasn't how his escort mission had gone, that the current moment was slightly different than what he had gone through the first time around. Oh _Kami above_, the "first time around;" here, he had his second chance.

The relief and pure euphoria at being able to be back and change all that went wrong was enough to mitigate any worries at the moment.

"Ah, Kaka-sensei, sorry for-"

Naruto's eyes widened. Was that… his voice? It was oddly different. He couldn't place a finger on it, but…

The Uzumaki was knocked from his thoughts when his focus landed on his sensei's face, sharingan fully presented with three tomoe swirling. But why did he look so confused? Was something wrong? Had he already made a mistake-?

"Gah!" Naruto screamed, oddly high-pitched and piercing.

A monumental headache crashed into him like a tidal wave, pushing Naruto's consciousness down deeper into black nothingness. Pounding, throbbing, slamming agony fought in the genin's head in a swirling bedlam, until finally Naruto's eyes opened again gingerly. The mist still coated the ground, slinking between their limbs like a purring feline as wind buffeted their faces. Naruto's arm twitched in pain and a hiss blew past clenched teeth.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Kakashi asked, concern almost drowning his voice.

Kakashi's muscles unclenched when he noticed his student's eyes fought to stay open as she nodded minutely. He sighed in relief at the sight. Muddled fatigue shone in her purple irises as her eyelids fluttered, and Kakashi observed how they flashed in the day's dulled light. They always shone a brilliant deep violet with flashes of vibrancy, but never blue. Never once his sensei's clear sapphire blue. Still, he could have sworn those orbs were a bright and crystal for a moment back there, just like Minato-sensei's.

The scrutiny didn't last long when the girl muttered, almost under her breath so it was lost in the wind, "Kakashi-sensei." The copy nin strained his ears to hear her next words, flickering his gaze to her amethyst eyes. They were trying to focus, battle off the throes of chakra exhaustion and blood loss, though she was obviously losing. When her eyes passed right by his face and over his shoulder to nothing, Kakashi's teeth clenched. She needed medical attention and she needed to lay down so he could give it to her. Just a little bit longer and they'd be at their client's house. He picked up his speed.

However, Kakashi never realized that Naruto was focusing on something definite, just something no one else could see. "Kakashi-sensei," she began again as he grunted in acknowledgement. Attempting to focus in on the blurry illusion behind her sensei, Naruto squinted her eyes tiredly. It was of a man, holding an orange mask, with one red eye blazing. She flicked her gaze between his red eye and Kakashi's red eye in drained curiosity before asking in a small, almost inaudible voice, "Who is Obito?"

Naruto had passed out as soon as the words left her mouth, therefore she missed the tense stiffening of Kakashi's shoulders as they continued to flee to safety.

_S_H_I_N_O_B_I_R_U_L_E_2_5_

"Kami it hurts," Naruto moaned feverishly, grabbing at her shoulder. Rubbing at the smooth flesh, she glanced down to realize that the wound had already healed. Smiling blithely, Naruto called out, "Hey Kakashi-sensei, look! I'm fine…" The Uzumaki's voice trailed off when she realized that she wasn't near her team, or a bed, or even what could have been Wave.

In fact, if Naruto didn't know any better, she would say that she was on a boat if the rocking and soft lapping of water were any indication. Not to mention the wooden paneling underneath her or the long paddle resting across her torso. Eyes widening, Naruto hurled her sore chest over the side of the boat in an attempt to empty the content of her stomach.

After a few moments of retching, Naruto wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and winced. Her body felt weak and was protesting against her in every way possible. With a deep breath to center herself in the midst of gentle swaying and nausea, the redhead opened her eyes to inspect a sight she had never seen before.

"What the...?"

All around her were ruins of what she could only assume was once a magnificent city. Gray slabs of deteriorated stone and rubble littered each side of a small canal she was situated in, all of which glowing with bright blue lines which resembled looping kanji before dipping into the water itself. Eyes widening in wonder and confusion, Naruto hesitated in poking the water, also throbbing with bright blue energy, before giving into her curiosity.

No ripples were present at the contact, but a jolt of vibrant vitality raced up her back, eliciting a gasp. Nausea, soreness, and pain suddenly flowed out of her. However, the feeling was gone almost as soon as it appeared, and the water remained undisturbed save for the tender lapping against the boat.

"What in Kami's name…?" Where the hell was she? Was this an elaborate ruse by enemies, or did her team take a little vacation to the ruined city of Nowhere? Was this place even in Wave Country? Naruto scrunched her face up in consternation before giving up. Thought wasn't her best skill set, and her team was more likely to find her and tell her what was up before she figured anything out anyway.

In the meantime, what could some harmless adventuring do? With a mischievous grin, the Uzumaki stepped up to a flattened stage on the boat just behind her and leaped.

Even with the energy from her jump, the boat barely splashed or upset the water.

Stretching lightly, Naruto swept her eyes across her surroundings in a more thorough attempt to size up her setting.

Really there wasn't much the redhead could say about the place, though that wasn't because it was boring or common. It was just that the area was so massive, with all the tattered buildings spanning out wide before releasing in what appeared to be grassy knolls—if what Naruto spied past the rubble was correct—that it was too much to completely take in. Several winding, dirt path lead away from the throbbing blue canal and the boat and into the decrepit city with fallen towers and high rise buildings.

"Where am I?" Naruto muttered under her breath, gaze darting back and forth among the rubble. Her hands rested happily behind her neck as she hummed a nonsensical tune. She really was wondering where in the Elemental Nations did her team dropped her. Sure, she sucked at geometry or whatever the subject was called, but no one was walking through the city, and neither were there any bodies. And that definitely couldn't be normal.

Teasing her lip with her teeth, confusion raced across Naruto's face. Seriously, this looked nothing like Wave Country. Well, except for the fact that the city was near the water.

"Hello?" the girl yelled, cupping at her lips at an attempt to facilitate the words' travels. However, the only answer was her own voice's echo, and eventually that too was swallowed up by the space. Brushing a wayward crimson spike of hair from her face and adjusting her hitai-ate upon her forehead, Naruto left the boat and water behind her to take a step farther into the remnants.

"Kakashi-sensei? Sakura-chan? Teme?" Each of her calls once again fell upon the hollow ears of the stone, devouring the disturbance with eerie efficiency. That was weird; Naruto was sure her team wouldn't just drop off a wounded teammate in a random country, no matter whether she protected the enemy from an attack. Unless… Naruto's eyes narrowed into suspicious slits, thoughts already cruising through her head with curses and swears.

"Oi! This isn't funny! Come out!" she hissed petulantly, punting a particularly large rock off into the distance where it disappeared among other, equally large rocks. Those bastards were totally pulling a prank on her in return for her interference! It wasn't her fault that she suddenly knew she had to save Haku and Zabuza, even if the latter was being a homicidal asshole. A flicker of silver crossed her peripherals.

"Kakashi!" Naruto growled, chasing after the flash. Pouting, or perhaps grimacing, Naruto skidded to a stop in order to face where she lost sight of her sensei. The fleeting image had disappeared behind structure that looked like it could have once been a restaurant, faded kanji upon a sign marked with a spiral, crumbling walls afflicted with the same blue glowing marks. Now it was more or less a carcass.

Looking through the destroyed windows, around the corners, and behind boulders, Naruto frowned. Still no one. Only ruined buildings and silence and eerie shadows…

The place was, simply put, a ghost town.

Naruto blanched as the realization hit her, and she flinched as if she was physically struck.

"Ugh," Naruto murmured, eye twitching in irritation. "Why does the place have to be so damn _creepy_?" Growling obscenities to herself while waving her arms around in what could only be an imitation of her punching an imaginary Kakashi and Sasuke—"If this is a joke, it's not funny at all, damn bastards! I am injured you assholes!"—Naruto felt it. And whipping curious eyes to her left, she saw it.

At the end of her sight, Naruto swore she could spot a towering gate, standing strong and silent, glowing with azure carvings. While scuffed and a little worse for wear, the slate blue, sage, and red painted gate was still standing among the skeletons of its neighbors, and she swore the spiraling curls of the writings called to her, hypnotically pulsing along with her heartbeat. Everything else blurred and it wasn't long until her inquisitive feet found their way to it, all else lost from her focus.

Naruto's head craned upwards to fully take in the structure, standing a good thirty or forty feet tall. Behind it lay a spanning river that split the city in half, a whole new set of ruins directly across the way with its own gate. However, Naruto's attention wasn't entranced by the addition of rubble, but instead the giant pillar of blue crystal in the middle of the pass, the only thing not emitting a vibrant blue hue.

Leaning a palm on the firm wood of the gate next to her, Naruto breathed out, "Woah…" However, her words were choked of life in her throat when the two gates lit up in a fiery red which dispersed across the entire surface of the river, the once smooth and clear blue dying a deep vermilion, viscosity thickening to imitate what could only be called blood.

Swearing, Naruto ran to the river's red bedside. Kicking a small stone, Naruto watched in fascination as the rock skidded across the surface before sinking and disappearing from her sight. Tilting her head in confusion, Naruto said, "Now this is even creepier."

She really didn't know whether she should feel disturbed by the idea of an entire river transmuting to blood or just captivated. Reaching a hand up to her shoulder, Naruto scratched at a phantom itch as the smell of blood traveled to her nose.

Definitely disgusted, she decided, eyeing the stuff warily. She huffed, crossing her arms as her annoyance grew to even higher levels. "Funny prank guys," she called out, "Ha ha. Now where are you?"

But still, no sound. Silence echoed hollowly across the river's expanse before a soft whooshing brushed behind her, skin chilling for a moment before the tell-tale sound of crunching of dirt came to her ears.

Oh, so now the jerks show up. Just in time to see her disgusted face at their horrible idea of a prank. Naruto growled while whipping around towards the source, though that growl hastily evolved into a scream, the sound slicing the air.

There, charging at her, wasn't any of her teammates but instead a ghastly pale man holding a three bladed scythe dyed red. As she fell backward in an attempt to dodge, her head slammed against the river behind her. Not having time to wonder about how the river had suddenly turned to a solid surface, Naruto's mind was overcome with the swaying haze of stars before her face blanched when the washed out ghost of a man's cloak fluttered above her head. She could barely catch a glimpse of a stylized red cloud flickering on the cloth as well. Light shined through his body and rested upon the crimson waters.

"Ghost!" Naruto screeched, scrambling back and away. She watched on in horror as the man spun towards her with a sickening grin, wielding a red triple bladed scythe, before proceeding to lick the blade. Naruto's face turned green with discomfort as the man laughed with muted manic glee.

This man was absolutely crazy. How could she escape, she wondered as her eyes zipped every which way, zoning in on the frozen blood underneath her palms. Maybe if she broke through the surface she could hide herself underneath and swim away-

The shine of excitement that passed across his ghostly eyes pierced into her body, stopping all thought processes, and the killing intent rolling off of him paralyzed her. She gulped down greedy breaths of air, chest tightening in displeasure.

His eyes passed by her, as if she were the one not totally present, but the second his gaze fell to Naruto's prone form, she started shaking in fear. Choking down horrified gasps, Naruto felt like she was drowning in the thickened air. It wasn't anything like Zabuza's ki; his was almost child's play to the pure senseless blood lust circling her now.

His muted voice just floated across her ears, unable to catch a word that was said.

This man could kill her. This man was going to find her and murder her, she just knew, and he could do it just by batting an eye. Child's play, that's what she was, not even worth fighting. He would tear right through her. Just a simple swipe. Dead.

Scraping his blade against the ground, the cloaked man began to draw a circle around himself, Naruto's eyes following every aching movement and flick of the man's wrist. Her eyes were riveted to the movements, and she felt her body tense unconsciously when he sped up in the carvings.

What was he doing?

Suddenly a large ball of fire consumed the man's body out of nowhere, breaking her fear for a brief moment so that Naruto could tear her gaze to the direction of the fireball's origin. Naruto spotted a familiar looking Konoha nin with a goatee panting with a smirk.

He's not dead, she wanted to yell, to help, but her throat constricted like a snake against the words. He's going to kill you. He's not dead! She needed to help! Biting down hard, Naruto's teeth tore into her flesh and knocked her from the trance.

"Run!" she cried frantically, forcing the voice from her lungs, the timbre scratchy and trembling. It felt as if tiny blades had scratched up her throat and across her tongue, punishing her for her outburst. Yet, the man completely ignored her, determined and somber expression quickly shifting to one of surprise, definitely an expression mimicked on Naruto's own face.

Naruto watched, struggling to stand, as the jounin's arm began bubbling and peeling as if it were burnt instead of the killer next to her.

However, before Naruto could pull herself to her feet and rush to aid her comrade, the image swirled away like a mirage and the intense pressure with it. It felt as if the world collapsed, the ruined buildings around her instead a result of the crumbling pressure suddenly leaving and no longer supporting their architecture. Her lungs, sucking in on themselves with lack of oxygen and heart beating madly to resupply the body.

Naruto gasped for air, grabbing at her throat, and wasted no time. Staggering to stand, she backed away from the residue of the vision: faint carvings of a circle and ancient runes scorched on the bloody red surface.

Call it instinct or call it gut feeling, Naruto didn't care. She knew she needed to get away from that area. So she ran. She ran away from the bank where she saw the Konoha jounin and away from the crazy dude with the scythe.

She ran towards the giant pillar, intangible pulse pulling her closer.

Panting, it took her longer than she thought to circle the crystal and hide her body behind it. It had surprising girth, and despite her initial thoughts, the surface was actually quite smooth despite millions of tunneling cracks running like veins through it.

Who _was_ that?

Her pulse was still elevated and her mind in shambles, flinching at the fact that not only could she do nothing, but she didn't _try _to do anything, instead watching as her comrade got hurt and then… disappear…

Suddenly it occurred to her that this might be an illusion, a cruel genjutsu placed on her by an enemy nin or worse: Kakashi-sensei as punishment for jumping in the way of his attack. What was it again? Whispers of a word bounced across the walls and slithered into her ear, something she found completely disturbing considering the even that just transpired.

'Chidori… Chido…ri'

A tense shiver clawed up her spine. Oh god, how did Kakashi-sensei know she was afraid of ghosts? Was that his game? Setting her up in this fake desiccated city filled with ghosts teetering in and out of her conscious? Fighting and scaring the crap out of her? Maybe it was a memory of his, a past battle he fought before he got old and his hair turned grey. Genjutsu could do that right?

Agh! Why didn't she focus more in the academy? Pulling at her hair, Naruto slammed her skull against the pillar behind her only to moan at the contact. Kami, that was stupid, why was she so stupid sometimes? Like taking that damn chidori to the chest; nobody willingly takes a first of lightning to the chest for their enemies! And now that damned sensei of hers was punishing her for her stupidity.

But wait, Kakashi was actually really young, with silver as his natural hair color. At least, Naruto could have sworn that's what he told them, though he could be lying…

An image in her peripherals caused Naruto to jump up jerkily. This one was of a giant slug, siding across the ground before its eye stalks twitched. Out of nowhere, the monstrous bug or whatever slugs were beaded off into… were those smaller slugs?!

Again, Naruto felt the sudden urge to vomit and run away as the mini slugs crawled over and consumed what she could only assume what was a bloody body on the ground before the image disappeared.

Trembling, Naruto swiped her trembling hand across her superfluously sweaty face. Ghosts. Fighting, maniac, cannibalistic ghosts. Just perfect. Just peachy. Just great. In erratically fast puffs of air, Naruto quickly grew light-headed. Why did it have to be ghosts?

Suddenly, two ghost clones leaping towards each other in a cataclysmic embrace, dauntingly bright sunset an extreme contrast to the otherwise pale phantoms of the usual memories. The image was seared into Naruto's brain as her eyes watered until she could no longer take it.

How could that even be considered _funny_! When they got back to Konoha, oh Naruto swore she would prank the living daylights out of the man, sensei or not.

Had he not heard of cruel and unusual punishment?

"Kai!" she yelled, the bright blue light blinding her for a moment.

"Oh shit," she whispered in fear, ducking down towards the frozen red surface on instinct. Another sliver of silver peeped out into her vision, though this one was of Sasuke, though he was wearing a pale robe tied by purple rope. An oddly shaped sharingan was present in his sockets as he charged towards a blonde man wearing an orange jumpsuit. Both their fists were lit with overwhelming power. The absolute malevolence and desire to kill leaking from the illusion made her actually vomit, bile dripping down her chin.

It was worse than the first set of ghostly images.

She couldn't take it. She didn't want this.

Hastily, she twisted her body so that it face the pillar in an attempt to save her sanity, smashing her face into the substance. Rubbing her sore nose, Naruto opened her violet eyes to take a peek. Small flecks of blood—she assumed they were from her horribly aching nose—were absorbed into the crystal. With a harsh blue flash, similar to when she attempted to release whatever hell she was in.

A small, fist-sized paper seal grew from the pillar. It looked worn, but none of the characters were faded. Maybe this was the center or the illusion? Did genjutsu have those: power sources?

Well, there really was only one way to find out, and Naruto was always more of a doer than a thinker. So, without hesitation or second thought, Naruto went and ripped the seal off, tearing it apart for good measure. With a hopeful groan, Naruto threw the pieces to the ground, grinding it underneath the surface and watching it sink, little by little.

**A/N: So... I kinda sorta hate this chapter? It was supposed to be out a while ago after I got ten reviews (once again, you guys are THE best! :D ) but it was getting really hard to write after... well, after Naruto first got stabbed... sooo... I'm sorry if it is a little slow again, I really can't tell sometimes and I hope it's not too choppy and the like but most importantly I hope it pleases you all :) We get a couple important tidbits here and there that should have spiced things up (I hope lol) and now that finals are over with, I can write even more luckily.**

**Thoughts and critiques would be nice (especially if you guys thought this was slow again) or just a nice comment; proven fact: makes me write faster, even if it is just "accordion!" lol buttttt legit, no, its true hahaha but honestly, critiques would be interesting and nice to improve myself**

**Thank you to the anonymous reviewers guest and kitten who I wasn't able to send a message to in thanks, and thank you to all of those who followed/faved/reviewed/read this :) **

**ALSO! Anyone know where Naruto currently is (I suppose many of you will get this)? Anyone know why it is described the way it is, as in the setting (I'm curious to hear this)? Any questions, review or PM me and I will get back to you :)**

**Thank you for everything! Enjoy!**

**Koby Out!**


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